If we know one thing, it’s that care work is essential and skilled work. So why is caregiving often undervalued? Here are some of the factors contributing to this stigma:

• Gender: Caregiving has traditionally been women’s work and the majority of today’s home care workers are women, women of color, and immigrants. This historical and present-day division of labor contributes to people seeing care work as low status.
• Unpaid Labor and Low Pay: Caregiving work has historically been unpaid or underpaid. Even in professional caregiving roles today, wages are low and benefits are often lacking. This reinforces the perception of caregiving as low value.
• Perception of Skill: There is a misconception that caregiving does not require specialized skills or training. Caregiving jobs require medical knowledge, communication skills, and physical skills that must be taught and practiced.
• Downplaying Emotional Labor: Caregiving involves emotional support, empathy, and relationship-building, which are often undervalued compared to “hard skills.”

When we don’t value care workers, we undervalue care and undermine care quality.

That’s why we do things differently. At Cooperative Care, we pride ourselves in celebrating the skill it takes to be a quality caregiver. 

5 Keys to Valuing Care Workers

According to PHI, the leading national expert on home care jobs and training, there are 5 key pillars of making home care jobs good jobs:

#1 Quality Training

#2 Fair Compensation

#3 Quality Supervision & Support

#4 Respect & Recognition

#5 Real Opportunity

Read on to hear about how our cooperatively owned home care agency delivers on each of these five areas.

Key #1: Quality Training

A quality direct care job should ensure that all workers acquire the skills, knowledge, and confidence to succeed in their complex roles. - PHI 

At Cooperative Care, we make sure that all of our caregivers, including those new to the job, are properly trained and prepared to provide the best care to our clients with confidence and compassion.

• Exceeding all training requirements set by the state
• Providing hands-on training opportunities where caregivers can practice with the guidance of experienced trainers
• Matching new caregivers with experienced mentors
• Providing access to educational resources such as online courses and printed materials
• Providing ongoing training and education yearly

Key #2: Fair Compensation

A quality direct care job should enable workers to achieve economical stability, safeguard their health, and plan for the future. - PHI

At Cooperative Care, we put a lot of thought and care into how to compensate our caregivers and make our Cooperative a place where caregivers want to stay long-term. We do this by:

• Paying more than our local competitors
• Sharing profits! When the Cooperative makes a profit, profits are shared equitably among our worker owners. This happens once a year and can differ depending on the profit amount.
• Doing our best to give caregivers the hours they want so they can earn the wages they want. While we can’t give everyone their perfect schedule, we put effort into understanding your scheduling needs and preferences.
• Paid time off and scheduling based on individual availability.
• As a Cooperative we operate to the benefit of the members.

Key #3: Quality Supervision & Support

A quality direct care job should offer workers the support and supervision they need to work safely and effectively. -PHI 

Providing intentional, attentive supervision and support is core to our mission here at Cooperative Care. It is important to us that our caregivers - new employees and long-term worker-owners alike - know that they’re not alone. Here are some of the ways that we practice this value:

• Providing clear job requirements so that caregivers know what’s expected of them and what’s outside the bounds of their job
• Establishing clear workflows so caregivers know who to turn to when challenges arise
• Accompanying caregivers to meet new clients and help establish a warm handoff
• Maintaining an open door policy
• Offering quality assurance support in addition to supervisors

Key #4: Respect & Recognition

A quality direct care job should honor the expertise, contributions, and diverse life experience of workers. - PHI

There is no greater proof that we respect and recognize the importance of caregivers than the fact that we are owned by caregivers! As a worker-owned company, we are committed to providing high-quality service to our customers and great employment to our workers, putting our workers at the center of our business decisions. Here are some other ways we demonstrate respect and recognition for caregivers:

• Being caregiver-owned! We know firsthand how skilled and capable caregivers are because caregivers run our company.
• Providing opportunities for caregivers to impact business decisions through participation in the Board of Directors or committees
• Communicating clearly and in advance about any business or policy changes that might impact caregivers
• Celebrating caregivers during our quarterly meetings
• Giving thank-you gifts when caregivers go above and beyond for their clients or for the cooperative

Key #5: Real Opportunity

A quality direct care job should invest in workers’ learning, development, and career advancement. - PHI

At Cooperative Care, we care about our caregiver’s interests, goals, and futures. Here are a few of the ways we invest in our caregivers beyond the day-to-day:

• Providing continuous paid learning opportunities so caregivers can continue to build new skills
• Creating opportunities for caregivers to become mentors or peer leaders
• Promoting from within our organization so that interested caregivers can take on more administrative roles
• Providing connections to other training and career development opportunities in the community
• Maintaining a commitment to caregiver leadership on our Board of Directors, and providing training to new Board members.

Our team at Cooperative Care understands the importance of respecting and rewarding the essential work of caregiving, as we are caregivers ourselves.

If you’re interested in learning more about what it might feel like to work in a supportive environment, our doors are always open.